


Start of something

by violetbear



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Minor Injuries, Post Hunting the Archon, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-09-30 09:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20444963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetbear/pseuds/violetbear
Summary: Scott gets caught by an Ascendant on the Archon's ship. Cora visits him in med bay afterwards.





	Start of something

He was exhausted. Maybe his dying had something to do with that. Or the wave after wave of enemies as they tried to rescue Drack’s scouts. But they were finally almost there.  
“Ryder!”

Cora’s shout was his only warning before he was surrounded by a burning, glowing orb. The ascendant had him. His whole body was on fire. He tried to scream but nothing came out. He couldn’t breathe.  
The orb suddenly disappeared and he fell to the ground. He lay there, unmoving with his eyes closed, unable to process what had just happened. There was a buzzing in his head. Something touched his arm. He opened his eyes to see Cora kneeling in front of him. Her mouth was moving but he didn’t hear a word she said. He couldn’t hear anything. He groaned as she touched his neck.

“...Is good. Come on, Ryder. Answer me.”  
“Cora”, he managed to groan.  
“There you are”, she smiled at him. “How are you feeling? Can you move?”  
“We need him at the console”, Birtak called from the door.  
“Give him a second”, Cora snapped.  
“We don’t have a second.” The memory of where they where came back to him. “Help me up. We need to get out of here.”  
Cora helped him to his feet. Once he was upright, he felt normal again.

The rest of the escape passed by in a blur. After the ramp of the Tempest was fully up he collapsed onto the floor, breathing hard. He was exhausted. Every part of him ached. He felt a hand on his shoulder.  
“It’s alright. I’m alright”, he said, not looking up. “Just give me a minute.” He heard one of the krogans scoff.  
“Squishy human can’t even-“  
“If you say one more word”, Drack growled, rage clear in his voice. “I’ll kill you where you stand.”  
“Drack, it’s alright.”

He was pulled to his feet. Drack help onto him until he got his balance back.  
“No, it’s not, kid. Let’s get you to the doc.”  
“I’m good. I don’t need-“  
“Yes, you do.” Cora draped his arm over her shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist. “No arguments, Pathfinder. Let’s go.”

*************************************************************************

Cora was walking into the med bay as soon as the door seal turned green. Scott was on the bed, sheet draped over his lower half. His bare chest was covered in multiple bandages plus one on the right side of his stomach. His shoulders were slathered with medi-gel. He was out cold. Lexi looked up from Scott and smiled at her.

“Hello, Lieutenant. He’s fine. Or rather he will be.”  
“That’s... Um, good.” She walked over to stand beside Lexi. “When can he...” She placed a hand on his arm, surprised how warm he felt. Biotics were usually slightly warmer but Scott felt even warmer than that. “How is he?”

“Slight fever.” She looked down at her data pad. “SAM and I are keeping a close eye on it. Also monitoring for any infection caused by the burns.”  
“Burns?”  
“Under the bandages. Second degree burns. Plus one third degree.” She gestured to the bandage on his stomach. “All should heal with minimal to no scarring.”  
“How could an energy shield cause burns?”  
“SAM was able to get some amazing data. You might want to go check that out.”  
“Okay.” She couldn’t take her eyes off him. “I’ll... Go do that.”

“SAM? Wake him up, please.”  
“He can do that?”  
“By breaking down the sedative I gave Scott faster than his body can do it naturally. At least that’s what he says. But after what happened on that ship, I don’t know...”  
“Doctor T’Perro”, SAM said. “I-“  
“Save it. I said we’d talk later.”

Scott opened his eyes and smiled at her.  
“Hello, Lieutenant. Checking to see if you received a field promotion?”  
Her heart clenched at the thought. Yes. Part of her still wanted to be Pathfinder. But if that meant losing Scott...  
“Cora?”  
“No. Just checking to see when you’ll stop playing hooky. We still have a job to do. Stop lazing around.”

He laughed. The sound made her heart sing.  
“First time I’ve heard that in Andromeda.” His smile disappeared for a brief second before coming back. “Okay, fine. I’ll get back to work.”  
“Not so fast.” Lexi reappeared at her side. When had she moved? “You’re spending the night here under observation.”  
“But-“  
“That’s final.” Lexi looked at her, eyebrow raised. “Good bye, Cora.”  
She knew better than to argue.  
“Yes, ma’am.” She patted Scott’s arm before finally removing her hand. “See you tomorrow, Ryder.”

True to her word, Lexi didn’t release Ryder until the next morning. Cora watched from the bio lab as he came down the ramp after his meeting with Hayjer. She couldn’t see any bandages but she knew they were still there from her check in with Lexi after she had released Scott.  
Scott saw her watching him and walked over to her.

“Hello, Lieutenant. Spying on me for Lexi?”  
“For myself, actually. How are you feeling, Scott?”  
“Well, that’s a first.”  
“What?”  
“Never mind. I’m good. Still slightly sore in spots but good. Did you need me for anything else because I need to-“  
“Go on.” She waved him off. “Go do your Pathfinder business. We’ll talk later.”  
“Sure. I’ll see you.” He walked off toward the bridge.

“Yes, you will”, she muttered, watching him leave. Then she came back to herself. What the hell was she thinking? He was the Pathfinder. Her Pathfinder. Her boss. Nothing could happen between them. No matter how much she enjoyed flirting with him. If she didn’t watch herself, she’d soon be acting like Peebee around him.  
As if she heard her thoughts, Peebee sighed from her spot at the research station.  
“Hate to let him go but love to watch him leave, right?”  
Cora groaned as she rolled her eyes before stepping back into the bio lab and returning to work.


End file.
